Health supplements from smelly herring

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‘Surströmming' – the slimy, smelly, fermented Baltic herring, that is sold in cans and is a popular favourite for many Swedes and converts – is to be turned into a health food supplement.

Inspired by the food's reported health benefits, especially for the stomach, the health foods company Rebiotica will begin producing surströmming as a health supplement in Enånger, in Hälsingland, north of Stockholm.

Inventor, Jan Eriksson, is credited with coming up with the inspiration for the idea. While undertaking often-stressful work in the forest, Eriksson often had problems with an upset stomach.

“Someone suggested that he try eating surströmming. He found that that worked, and so then I thought that I should really do something about this,” Patrik Enfält, CEO of Rebiotica, told local newspaper Hudiksvalls Tidning.

The company says the supplement gives relief for upset stomach, gastritis and heartburn. It will be produced from freeze-dried surströmming that will be packaged as capsules to be swallowed whole.